I just think it's rather odd that a nation that prides itself on its virility should feel compelled to strap on forty pounds of protective gear just in order to play rugby.

Giles ,'Beneath You'


Natter Area 51: The Truthiness Is in Here  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Jesse - Apr 16, 2007 10:52:45 am PDT #2838 of 10001
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

I got stupidly into I Love New York, and had to force myself not to watch the finale.

And when I was last in school, I lived way off campus and checked my school email sporadically, and would totally have shown up well after an announcement to stay home had gone out. Yikes.


Fred Pete - Apr 16, 2007 10:53:35 am PDT #2839 of 10001
Ann, that's a ferret.

There's another angle to consider. There will be lawsuits -- it's just the way things are in our society.

And even if VT eventually wins, there's going to be a lot of expense involved. Lawyers will have to defend the university, and even if there are in-house counsel to do that, their salaries can't be chickenfeed. Plus those lawyers will have to talk to a lot of people at the university -- who'll spend their time explaining things to the lawyers instead of doing their regular jobs.

Plus, let's face it, the publicity will decidedly not help the university attract students.


Sparky1 - Apr 16, 2007 10:58:31 am PDT #2840 of 10001
Librarian Warlord

The Washington Post has a Q&A with a student from about an hour ago: [link]

There's nothing new here, but a flavor of what this student's mood is and what it's like on the campus.


Stephanie - Apr 16, 2007 10:59:09 am PDT #2841 of 10001
Trust my rage

So, I'm watching Work Out on Bravo for the first time, and it is truly amazing how people can make their living on reality tv -- one of the trainers is Rebecca from the Amazing Race (with the ex-boyfriend with the wierd hair)!

I've been watching this season. I want to like it, but so much of it seems canned, or at least, exaggerated for TV.


lisah - Apr 16, 2007 10:59:11 am PDT #2842 of 10001
Punishingly Intricate

And when I was last in school, I lived way off campus and checked my school email sporadically, and would totally have shown up well after an announcement to stay home

My cousin at VTU lives off campus and didn't know what had happened at all until my mom called him from DE. And then he was all "I think I'll go over to campus!" I think she talked him out of that though.


Jesse - Apr 16, 2007 11:01:38 am PDT #2843 of 10001
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

I've been watching this season. I want to like it, but so much of it seems canned, or at least, exaggerated for TV.

Yeah, it didn't really grab me.


aurelia - Apr 16, 2007 11:04:33 am PDT #2844 of 10001
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.

A case with two victims is very specific. I can see how police wouldn't have any reason to suspect a spree killing would follow.

I can't imagine the logistics of locking down a 25,000 student campus.

No kidding.


bon bon - Apr 16, 2007 11:12:25 am PDT #2845 of 10001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.

I think emails, calling RAs, announcement systems, voice mails and cancelling classes are reasonable precautions to take if the police think there is a killer on campus. And the fact that a killer might pose a danger to students on campus is a reasonable assumption to make. The fact that the school apparently took no precautions and had no system in place for protecting students from a campus-wide threat, no matter how porous those precautions may be in practice, will expose the school to significant liability.


Steph L. - Apr 16, 2007 11:14:30 am PDT #2846 of 10001
I look more rad than Lutheranism

And the fact that a killer might pose a danger to students on campus is a reasonable assumption to make.

Particularly considering that Va. Tech. had 2 bomb threats last week, both of which targeted the engineering buildings.


sumi - Apr 16, 2007 11:16:31 am PDT #2847 of 10001
Art Crawl!!!

If, for some reason the emails didn't get through, they should have put a general announcement on the school's website and initiated a phone tree. (It's slow - but at least you know people have the information.)